PETER HOOK AND THE LIGHT

A LIVE REVIEW – KK’s STEEL MILL WOLVERHAMPTON – 12/10/23

The Manchester Legend Peter Hook brought his band to Wolverhampton tonight (12/10) to the versatile venue “KK’s Steel Mill” and boy was it busy. Perhaps the busiest I have seen the venue at a weeknight gig and the crowd was made up of a variety of people. Mods, Rockers, Punks… it was very diverse. The stage was set with the legendary basses that Hooky plays, and any bass player in attendance would have been drooling on what was on display, especially the 6 string beast.

By the time I arrived the majority of the space near the stage was occupied. Not packed in like sardines but very close. The atmosphere seemed enthusiastic and pleasant and there was a roar of chatter as people waited for Hooky and Co to grace the stage.

This was going to be a set of 2 halves, playing both the Joy Division and New Order albums “Substance” in full to celebrate the 35th anniversary.

The lights dimmed and the audience gave a rapturous cheer as Peter Hook and The Light came on stage, as usual Peter Hook had a look of determination on his face, his Northern no nonsense gaze as he took in the sight of the crowd. A brief greeting to the masses before kicking off the first half with “No Love Lost.”

As usual I spent the first 3 songs in the pit, and tonight I was the only photographer which was a nice surprise, and I have a long task ahead of me now going through the shots I took but when you’re doing something you love for a band that you have high regards for you can get carried away and caught in the moment.

Once back in with the crowd I stood back and took it all in. Many more Joy Division songs came with minimal banter from the stage but with such a huge setlist to get through it’s no surprise that chat was sparse. There was plenty of applause and hollering between tracks, and when the staple Joy Division hits such as “Transmission” and “She’s Lost Control” were played there was a palpable lift in the crowd and there were a few people to the extremities of the venue having a good time dancing and singing like no one was watching. Perhaps it was my less than desirable vantage point being a short person surrounded by tall people, or maybe I’m just a bit pre-conditioned by a youth of mosh pits, but to me the sound seemed a bit off. No fault of the band as they all played superbly, but something just wasn’t quite right and I think I wasn’t the only one to notice.

After a brief address from Peter about his daughter turning down a trip to Wolverhampton with him for her 25th Birthday to go out with her friends The loudest pop from the first set was for the final track “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. Always a crowd pleaser and, as usual, when the band bring the volume down to hear everyone sing it’s quite an experience that, no matter how many times you have been part of it, gives you goosebumps and masses of them.

After a brief intermission once again the band graced the stage to kick off the New Order portion of the night and the crowd seemed animated and singing a lot louder with a lot more interaction. I have to say, as much as I love Joy Division, this half appealed to me a bit more. The 80s-esque electronic style, the programmed drum tracks and synths mixed with the live band is a winner for me (which is one of the reasons I love New Order). It started with “In A Lonely Place” followed by “Procession” and “Cries And Whispers.”

I was out of the pit just in time for one of my favorite tracks “Ceremony” and walking around the venue this time it was clear that the vibe had increased tenfold, a lot of feet were moving to the beat !

The songs came aplenty and the lighting was fantastic (as it was for the first half), a great light show which really added the right atmosphere for the songs, although I’m sad to say the sound was still lacking the treble, and at times it was not only hard to here Peter’s vocals, but also the synths were very quiet at times, especially in “Blue Monday” and, the final track of the night “True Faith” along with the cymbals, it lacked that high end cutting through to give the accents and nuances.

Again the chatter from the stage was minimum and there was no encore, but all that can be excused as we were treated to a total of 30 songs from the band tonight and, despite the sound issues, the band didn’t drop a beat and showed us why they are one of the hardest working bands on the live circuit to this day. They clearly love playing live and put the work in beforehand which gives them the well-earned reputation they have for great music-filled, focused sets and keeps the fans coming back time and time again to see them.